


The luckiest man alive

by MalenkayaCherepakha



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Cross-Generation Relationship, Getting Together, Heddyco, M/M, designer Teddy, now get ready for... hat shop aus, you've heard of coffee shop aus
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-24
Updated: 2019-03-24
Packaged: 2019-12-06 22:55:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,799
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18226502
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MalenkayaCherepakha/pseuds/MalenkayaCherepakha
Summary: Teddy has only wanted two things in his life - to own a hat shop, and to be with Harry and Draco. He's got one of those things, will he get the other?





	The luckiest man alive

**Author's Note:**

> This was inspired by a random chat on the Drarry discord about what the ship name could be for Teddy x Harry x Draco, in which [DeWitty](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DeWitty1/pseuds/DeWitty1) came up with the incredible name HeddyCo, which made us think about a hat shop called that. Thanks [DeWitty](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DeWitty1/pseuds/DeWitty1), [Keyflight790](https://archiveofourown.org/users/keyflight790/pseuds/keyflight790) and [TheFifthBiscuit](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheFifthBiscuit/pseuds/TheFifthBiscuit) for inspiring this and making me write it ❤️

Every day when Teddy arrived at work and threw open the shutters of his little shop, looking around at the shelves lined with his creations, he took a moment to appreciate that this was his life.

The hat shop had seemed like an impossible dream when he had first thought of it. Teddy had always been interested in fashion, had always been fascinated by the way that changing your clothes could change who you were. It would be overly simplistic though to say that his interest was based on his abilities as a metamorphmagus. It had of course played a part; Teddy had learnt the power of changing your appearance, whether through a new hair colour or a new outfit, at an early age, and had first hand experience of how differently people react to you based on your appearance. 

More than that though, Teddy had been drawn to fashion, and hats in particular, as a way to release all the creativity that bubbled up inside him. As a lost and confused teenager, sketching and sewing had been a sorely needed way to quiet his mind. He would spend hours in his room in the dormitories, getting swept away in the intricate lines of the designs he created. 

As time went on Teddy realised that it wasn't just a way to distract himself; he was actually good at it. He began to spend more and more of his free time sketching out elaborate designs, losing himself in dreams of being able to design as a career after Hogwarts. 

For a while, Teddy had written it off as an option - starting a business was expensive, and with no capital or customers he just didn't see how he could make it work. But then, a chance conversation over dinner at Andromeda’s one night made his dream possible again. 

Draco and Harry had come over for dinner as they often did since they had got together. Teddy loved the dinners the four of them had; Andromeda always served a delicious spread and he found Harry and Draco’s constant bickering hilarious. 

The conversation had turned to work, and Draco was in the middle of a lengthy explanation of the current crisis involving one of his investment clients. Harry was trying to persuade Draco to cut the client loose, saying that it was time to get out before he lost any more money. Draco wasn’t keen, not wanting to see a business he believed in fail, but eventually Harry managed to win Draco around to his point of view. 

Draco then commented that as he would be losing that company, he would need to find another investment opportunity to take their place. It was a throwaway comment, and the conversation quickly moved on, but it stuck in Teddy’s head.

He couldn’t believe he hadn’t thought of it before. Draco invested in businesses. Teddy wanted to start a business and needed money to do so. Draco could invest in Teddy’s business. It was perfect.

The very next day Teddy had owled Draco, laying out his plans and asking if Draco would consider investing in him. Draco had responded quickly, saying that if Teddy could prove his business was viable, then he would definitely be interested. 

Things had progressed quickly from then, with owls flying back and forth between the two as they hashed out details of the business plan and finances, and before he knew it, Teddy’s dream was in reach. 

The final hurdle had been finding premises for his shop, and it took months of searching before he found anywhere that felt right, months of looking round vacant shops and not finding anything that inspired him. 

When he walked into the place that would become his shop though, he knew right away that it was the right one. The shop was on a cobbled side street in a mixed wizarding and muggle neighbourhood in London, and the rest of the street was lined with a variety of quirky independent shops. It had gorgeous big windows at the front and a perfect workshop in the back where he could design and create his hats. He signed the lease there and then. 

A year later, and Teddy had fully settled in to his life as a designer. The business was doing well, and he was steadily making a name for himself in fashionable wizarding circles, helped along the way by a few positive articles in Witch Weekly. He even had a regular stream of muggle customers, and he was becoming known as the place to go for slightly unusual but beautifully created headwear, perfect for society weddings or Ascot. 

One Thursday, Teddy started the morning by checking over his inventory, as he did every day. He walked round the shop floor, straightening up hats that had listed to the side overnight, and neatened up the racks displaying the accessories he had taken to crafting when inspiration struck. 

His first customer arrived soon after, a middle-aged witch in need of a hat for her son’s wedding. Creating custom hats had become one of Teddy’s favourite parts of his job; as someone who had spent a lot of time thinking about identity and how to express that through one’s appearance, he loved talking to his clients and drawing out the parts of their personality that they wanted to highlight. He would then spend hours sketching and creating samples until he had found the perfect hat for that person. He had yet to find anything else that matched the feeling of satisfaction he got when he saw a customer trying on their hat for the first time. 

He dealt with customers all morning and made several big sales, wolfing down a quick lunch during a quiet moment, before gathering all his files ready for his weekly meeting with Draco. 

Unlike some investors, Draco made a point of being very involved in the businesses he financed, and so he had insisted on regular meetings with Teddy, especially when the business had only been in its infancy. Now that Teddy was more established and successful, Draco didn’t feel the need to supervise him quite so much, but they both enjoyed their weekly meetings and found them useful, so they had continued. 

Draco arrived promptly as usual, bearing cups of coffee from the cafe down the road. As often happened these days, Harry had tagged along too.

Having recently decided that life as an Auror was no longer right for him, the newly-unemployed Harry often found himself at a loose end. He had therefore taken to spending a lot of time either at the shop or following Draco around. 

Harry usually occupied himself while Teddy and Draco talked business by wandering around the shop chatting to customers, or poked around in the back room. Today though he had sat down with them, and seemed to be listening intently to their conversation. 

Draco and Teddy were midway through a discussion about the long-range forecast for the business when Harry visibly lost interest. He started shuffling around in his chair, tried to drink from his long empty coffee cup, fiddled with his watch for a bit, and finally ended up playing with the sleeve of Draco’s jacket. 

Draco didn’t seem perturbed by this in the slightest. Harry was a very touchy feely kind of person and so Teddy supposed Draco had just got used to this over the years that he had been with Harry. When Harry and Draco were together they were almost constantly in some kind of physical contact; hands clasped tightly together as they walked, Harry’s arm slung round Draco’s shoulders as they sat in the pub, feet touching as they sat at the dinner table. It seemed to be nearly completely unconscious, as though the need to reach out and check the other was near was just a natural process.

They might not have noticed, but Teddy definitely did. 

To begin with, Teddy thought he noticed because he was lonely. 

Whenever he saw Harry and Draco laughing together, or looking at each other across a room, or casually touching each other, Teddy would get a weird feeling in his stomach. After noticing this on a few different occasions, he decided it was because he was jealous that they had someone and he didn’t. Apart from his relationship with Victoire, which had ended years previously, Teddy hadn’t really had a proper girlfriend or boyfriend. He’d had flings and one night stands, sure, and he was confident in his ability to go out and pull, but he’d yet to experience the kind of love that Harry and Draco shared. 

After a few unexpected dreams involving green eyes and bright blond hair though, Teddy had to admit to himself that his strange feelings weren’t caused by him wanting a relationship like theirs. 

What he wanted was them. 

Teddy was jolted out of the ever so slightly inappropriate thoughts that Harry’s hands on Draco had inspired by Draco waving a hand in front of his face.

‘Hello? Teddy? Are you in there?’ he was saying.

‘Oh, yeah, sorry, just zoned out briefly… what were you saying?’ Teddy said, hoping desperately that his face wasn’t flushed and that his hair was still its normal blue.

‘I was asking if you’d got any more custom orders booked in for next month?’ Draco said patiently.

‘Oh, yeah, I do actually,’ Teddy said, forcing his mind to focus on work again for the remainder of their meeting. 

The rest of the afternoon flew past, with several more customers keeping Teddy busy until closing time. He barely had time to think until he got home and flopped down on the sofa in his small flat. 

Now that he was home and away from the distractions of the shop though, he couldn’t stop himself returning to his previous train of thought about Harry and Draco. 

His mind kept getting stuck on the tiny moment he had caught between the two of them just before they had left the shop. Teddy had briefly popped into the back room to put away all the files he and Draco had been looking at during their discussion, and he had obviously been so quiet as he made his way back that Harry and Draco hadn’t noticed his return. 

They were stood by the till, gathering their things ready to leave. Harry had haphazardly pulled his coat on, and he hadn’t noticed that the collar was half sticking up. As Teddy came back into the room, Draco was reaching up to smooth out Harry’s collar, gently putting it back into place. He then reached up and softly stroked Harry’s face, and Harry visibly melted into the touch. The change in his face was remarkable as it softened and cleared of any tension. 

Harry reached up and took Draco's hand in his, linking their fingers together tightly before leaning in and gently, ever so lightly, kissing Draco on the lips. He pulled away with such a tender look of love in his eyes that Teddy had to look away, feeling like he was intruding on a private, intimate moment. 

For the rest of the day, that moment had played on a loop in Teddy's brain, his mind returning to it over and over again. 

He so desperately wanted to see that look of Harry's again, but directed at him. He ached to know how it would feel to have Draco stroke his face or hold his hand. 

And the kiss. Oh god the kiss. 

Teddy burned with the need to experience that kiss. 

Words couldn't do justice to the way he craved to know whether Draco's lips were as soft as they looked, to know how Harry's beard would feel against his skin. The need overpowered him, left him unable to think of anything else, left him hard and wanting. 

 

The following day was Friday, and business was slow. Teddy had yet to discover why some days just saw less people visiting the shop, but it was safe to say that something was keeping them away today. Teddy thought maybe it was the universe playing a cruel joke on him, as he really could have done with the distraction of some customers, rather than being left alone with his thoughts all day. 

His mind was still stuck on Harry and Draco, his preoccupation worsened by the vague guilt he felt about the way they had snuck into his fantasy the night before. He always tried his hardest to avoid thinking about them when he was wanking, but last night, as was often the case, he had been unable to stop the images flooding his brain. He had come hard and fast to visions of himself in bed with Harry and Draco, to the thought of their hands all over his body, but as the thrill of his orgasm had faded away, the guilt had set in. 

He shouldn’t be thinking about them this way, they hadn’t done anything to warrant him perving over them like this. They would never want to be with him, not in the way he wanted, and so he should just move on, find someone else to fantasise about. 

It was all well and good thinking that though, but actually putting it into practice was a hell of a lot harder. 

Teddy had just decided that the first step of his ‘getting over Harry and Draco plan’ would involve going out that evening and trying to pull when the door was wrenched open. 

Of bloody course it was Harry, bounding through the door with an excited grin on his face. The universe certainly had it in for Teddy today. 

‘Come on, Teddy, it’s half 4 and it’s Friday, lets go to the pub!’ Harry said as he walked up to the till Teddy was sat behind. 

When Teddy didn’t respond immediately, Harry’s face fell.

‘I mean, don’t worry if you’re busy… you probably already had other plans…’ he said haltingly.

Teddy, who had been shocked into silence by Harry’s appearance, couldn’t bear the idea that he could cause Harry to look so disappointed, and so finally managed to choke out a few words.

‘No, I had nothing arranged,’ he said, all thoughts of his plan wiped from his mind instantly. ‘Let’s go.’

 

‘There you go,’ Harry said, setting a pint down in front of Teddy. 

‘Cheers,’ Teddy replied, taking a large sip of his beer, trying to settle his nerves. He felt incredibly exposed, seeing Harry one on one when he’d been wrestling with his feelings for him all day. He just hoped and prayed that his feelings weren’t written across his face, or worse, in his hair. 

‘Draco said he’d come join us, he had a meeting but that should be finished by now so I’m sure he’ll arrive soon,’ Harry said, apparently oblivious to Teddy’s inner turmoil. 

‘Oh cool,’ Teddy replied. 

It was not cool however, not even slightly. 

Teddy didn’t know if he could cope with an evening of watching Harry and Draco together, didn’t know how he would make it through the night without burning up in a fire of jealousy and want. Draco and Harry tended to become even more affectionate with each other when they had been drinking - a few pints were enough to have them giggling and clinging to each other like two teenagers in love for the first time. It was sort of cute, at least to everyone else who knew them, but it just made Teddy fall harder for them every time. 

With the help of his pint, Teddy managed to pull himself together enough to chat to Harry while they waited for Draco. Since Harry had quit the Aurors he had gained a new lease on life, and Teddy had never seen him so happy and carefree. Harry laughed all the time now, and seemed to be having the time of his life. 

When Draco arrived, his immaculate suit suggesting he had come straight to the pub from his meeting, Harry was in the middle of a ridiculous story about the latest hobby he had taken up. As a result of all the free time he had now that he wasn’t working, Harry had been trying out a variety of different hobbies in an attempt to find something he’d like to do next. This week had apparently been DIY week, and it turned out that Harry was not naturally gifted at it.

‘Is he telling you about the horror he calls shelves that I now have to look at every time I go into our living room?’ Draco said as he sat down at the table.

‘They’re not that bad!’ Harry said, ‘They’re only a little bit wonky, it’s hardly noticeable.’

‘Harry, everything you put on them rolls straight off. That’s more than ‘a little bit wonky’.’ Draco sighed, having clearly had this conversation multiple times in the past few days.

‘Okay, okay, fine, they’re very wonky. Happy now?’ Harry said, raising an eyebrow at Draco, who just smiled back, having clearly already forgiven Harry for the terrible shelves.

Teddy normally loved hanging out with Harry and Draco, despite the problems it caused him when it inevitably only made his crush grow stronger. But there were moments like this, moments when Draco and Harry’s world so visibly reduced to just the two of them, when Teddy hated spending time with them. It just made him so painfully aware of what he wanted but could never have, and the pain was a physical ache, like his heart was being ripped out of his chest.

Teddy’s emotions must have been visible on his face, as Draco looked at him, concerned, and said ‘Are you alright, Teddy?’

‘Woah yeah, Teddy, you don’t look good, what’s up?’ Harry added.

‘Nothing, ‘m fine, honestly,’ Teddy deflected, understandably not willing to share what was really wrong. He didn’t think it would go down too well if he blurted out actually I’m really fucking jealous of you two being together and I want to be part of your little in jokes and also if you wouldn’t mind fucking me that would be great. That was probably best kept to himself. 

‘Do you want to get out of here? It’s quite warm and crowded in here, maybe that’s making you feel ill?’ Harry suggested.

‘Yes, that’s a good idea. Let's go back to our house,’ Draco said, standing up straight away and putting his coat on, not leaving any time for Teddy to shoot down the idea. 

 

It took a fight to convince Harry that he was feeling well enough to apparate on his own, but eventually Teddy won and so he appeared on the front steps of Draco and Harry’s townhouse alone. Harry arrived seconds later and ushered Teddy into the house. 

Teddy ended up sat in the living room, staring at the lopsided shelves while Harry grabbed them more drinks from the kitchen. The shelves really were terrible and Harry needed to find a new hobby and fast, before he wrecked any more of the house that Draco had painstakingly decorated when they moved in. 

Teddy was jolted out of his contemplation of potential hobbies for Harry when he and Draco came back into the room and sat on the sofa opposite Teddy. They both had uncharacteristically serious looks on their faces, and Teddy’s pulse immediately kicked into overdrive in anticipation of the serious conversation that he sensed coming. 

‘So, Teddy,’ Draco began, ‘there’s something we wanted to talk to you about.’

Oh fuck, Teddy thought. This can’t be good. 

‘Yeah, so, we’ve noticed something recently,’ Harry said, picking up where Draco had left off. ‘Sometimes, when we’re all together, you get this look on your face.’

Oh no.

‘I'm sorry Harry, I'm so sorry, I know it's not okay, and I'm trying to stop but I can't, I never wanted to make you feel bad, I really didn't,’ Teddy started babbling, all his guilt flooding out of him. 

‘Woah, woah, Teddy, breathe a minute.’ Harry said hurriedly. ‘You don't need to apologise, it's not a bad thing.’

Wait, what? Teddy pulled himself out of his spiral of panic to wonder what that could mean. How could it not be a bad thing? 

Noticing Teddy's confusion, Draco began to speak.

‘What Harry means, Teddy, is that we don't mind. We've known for a little while now how you feel about us, and it's alright. We're not upset and we're not angry. The opposite in fact.’

Teddy couldn't keep up, couldn't process the turn the conversation had taken. He could feel the beginnings of a faint stirring of hope in the pit of his stomach. 

‘We didn’t want to say anything because we were worried about how you would react, but, well, we’ve been talking about opening up our relationship, but we’d only want to do it if it was with you, Teddy.’ Harry said. 

Teddy couldn’t believe it. He was pretty sure Harry had said that he and Draco wanted to be with him, but that just didn’t seem right - maybe he was just imagining it, his overly aroused brain making him hear things. 

‘Are, are you sure? You want me, to be with me?’ Teddy said hesitantly, looking nervously between Draco and Harry.

‘Yes, Teddy.’ Draco said, smiling at him. 

‘You don’t have to decide anything now, take a few days and think about it, but if you want to, the option is there.’ Harry said reassuringly.

‘I don’t need time!’ Teddy blurted out, not wanting to give Harry and Draco a chance to change their minds. ‘I want you, both of you. I want to do this.’

Draco laughed at Teddy’s eagerness, and then got up from the sofa and came to sit by Teddy’s side. 

Teddy couldn’t do anything but sit still, in complete shock and disbelief as his dreams came true and Draco softly reached out to stroke his cheek. 

‘Is this alright, Teddy?’ Draco murmured.

Teddy just nodded eagerly, too breathless to speak. 

He thought he might have died and gone to heaven when Draco leaned in and kissed him, ever so gently. Teddy melted into the kiss, a moan escaping him completely by accident. He shivered as he felt Harry’s hand slot into his own, the man having moved to sit next to Teddy while Draco had kissed him. 

As Harry moved forward to kiss him, Teddy marvelled for a moment at the fact that this was really happening. He’d thought that once he’d opened his shop his quota of fulfilled dreams had been reached, that he would never get luckier than that in his life. And yet, somehow, the universe had seen fit to allow him both his shop and the men he loved. He felt like the luckiest man alive.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!
> 
> Find me on Tumblr: [MalenkayaCherepakha](https://malenkayacherepakha.tumblr.com/)


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